Australia shares edge higher on CSL, investors await earnings

(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

SYDNEY Aug 13 Australian shares rose 0.1
percent on Tuesday, buoyed by a better-than-expected earnings
season so far, with CSL shares underpinning the market with
banks and miners lending some support.

The market has bounced back from a trough of 4,632.3 points
hit on June 25, but worries about slowing growth in China and
uncertainty about the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus programme
have seen the index pull back from the 5,100 level reached in
early August.

"The reporting season is driving the market at the moment,
rather than overseas leads, and mostly they're exceeding
expectations," said Michael Heffernan, senior client adviser and
economist at broker Lonsec.

Analysts said earnings form major companies have been
relatively close to expectations so far, but the market will
continue to monitor reports from bluechips including
Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Wesfarmers Ltd which are all
due to report later this week, for cues on domestic growth.

Blood products maker CSL Ltd climbed 2.1 percent as
analysts said investors were expecting a strong result and were
positioning themselves ahead of the earnings report due on
Wednesday.

Alacer Gold Corp soared 6 percent to A$2.66, a
two-week high, supported by a rise in gold prices, and after the
company announced a leadership change and said the sales process
for its Australian assets is continuing and discussions with a
number of interested parties are well-advanced.

Global manufacturing company Bradken Ltd soared 6.5
percent to A$5.58, a three-month high, after the company
reported a fall on 33.4 percent in earnings with a net profit of
A$66.9 million in the year to June 30, but its outlook for 2014
is upbeat and announced a fully-franked final dividend of
A$0.18.

Australian business confidence took a hit last month as
firms reported an intensifying squeeze on profits, a survey
found on Tuesday, with weakness in sectors from finance to
property overshadowing a solid improvement in conditions for
mining and retail.

"There's a bit of anticipation about the Commonwealth Bank
of Australia's report tomorrow," Heffernan said.

Stockland Corp Ltd dropped 2.2 percent after
Australia's second-largest property group, reported on Tuesday a
79 percent fall in full-year net profit and said the recovery in
the country's housing market was likely to be modest and uneven.

Next In Company News

LOS ANGELES, Dec 9 President-elect Donald Trump
will remain an executive producer on the reality TV show
"Celebrity Apprentice," new host Arnold Schwarzenegger said on
Friday, defending the situation as similar to his own
transitions between politics and entertainment.

NEW YORK, Dec 9 Arista Networks Inc
used rival Cisco Systems Inc's network device
technology in its ethernet switches without permission, a U.S.
trade judge ruled on Friday, handing Cisco yet another win in a
sprawling legal battle over patents between the two companies.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: